I got interested in this when reading a historical novel set in 1860s New York. The heroine wnet out on her birthday, alone, with a couple of dollars "mad money". I wond…ered what the origin of the phrase might be. I found an article that explained it. "Mad Money: A Semantic Change" by George Javor in American Speech, Vol. 50, No. 1/2, (Spring - Summer, 1975),. Apparently "mad money" was "noted as early as 1922 by Howard J. Savage (Dialect Notes 5: 148) at the end of an article on Bryn Mawr slang. Savage's definition is 'money a girl carries in case she has a row with her escort and wishes to go home alone.' " But it developed a second meaning: "By 1946, a second meaning of the term had been recorded by C. M. Woodard ("A Word-List from Virginia and North Carolina," PADS, no. 6, pp. 4-43). He gave the meaning already noted ('money taken along by a girl on a date to be used in case she falls out with her companion and wants to come home early,' p. 20), and then added: 'Also money used by a girl or woman for small purchases.' Among general dictionaries, Webster's Third was the first to record the term with both meanings. Its definitions are 'carfare carried by a girl on a date to provide a means of escaping her escort in the event of unwanted familiarities; broadly: a small sum carried by a woman for emergency use.' The second definition is similar to Woodard's, but it relates the sum used for "small purchases" to the sense of emergency implicit in the older meaning." The author then gave some of his students a "questionnaire that they completed asked: "What is your definition of mad money? If you know the term in more than one meaning, give both." An overwhelming number, 92 percent, gave as their answers a definition that is different from either of those in the dictionaries. This new meaning of mad money may be phrased thus: 'money to be spent FOOLISHLY, for some- thing you DON'T NEED, on the SPUR OF THE MOMENT or FRIVOLOUSLY, indeed CRAZILY.' One or more of the emphasized concepts appeared in practically every answer." Javor points out that the meanings of "mad" from angry to crazy allow this drift. His article was written in 1975. I wonder what "mad money" can mean now!

"Knocking" began as a term for serious flirting circa 1800. Originally it was because you were knocking on the maiden's "door" trying to "get in". Understandably, t…his reference quickly changed to the actual act of "getting in" because beds knock against walls. If you leave your boots on, literally done at that time, you are "knocking boots"- a Southern U.S. term. Around 1813, the term "knocking up her boots" was common. A reference to the "missionary" position. By 1830, "knocked up" began as a reference to what we now know it as today. Sadly, it was a reference to a slave woman who became pregnant. {This can be verified via "Bing" search, and through searches of various history sources for; African-American History, Southern & Western U.S. History, Women's History, etc:}

Sir, the phrase originated in 1874 when Derek Bush held up a convenience store for "the jig", which was a magazine promoting adult toys. After the incident, local residents wo…uld say "the jig is up" after something bad would happen to them.

Although the general consensus to the origin of "Dressed to the Nines" is unknown; consider the meaning to be simply a reference of scale. " On a scale of one to ten; you are …dressed to the nines" Since perfection can never be attained, nine would be the absolute best. The plural version on nine "Nines" is nothing more than people trying to make more of the number nine and fractionalizing it for further impact. With this definition in mind, every use of the term would make sense. The phrases 'to the nines', or 'to the nine', were used to indicate perfection - the highest standards. That was in use in the 18th century, as here from William Hamilton's Epistle to Ramsay, 1719: How to the nines they did content me. In fact, the earliest reference of "to the nine" may not have been "to the nine" at all. A phrase similar to "to the nine" appears in a translation of Voyages de Jehan de Mandeville chevalier, which appeared anonymously in France circa 1357 and is attributed to Sir John Mandeville. In the English translation of this work is found the line: Sir king! ye shall have war without peace, and always to the nine degree, ye shall be in subjection of your enemies, and ye shall be needy of all goods. The original work was written in Anglo-Norman French and is much translated. Whether the 'to the nine' is a literal translation from the original or whether it was added by translators later, and possibly as late as 1900, isn't clear. It doesn't seem likely that the phrase existed in English as early as the 14th century, not to appear again in print until the 18th century. However, it should be noted that the French word for the number nine is neuf, but neuf is also the French word meaning "new" in the sense of being brand new. It is therefore possible that when translating the passage above, the correct literary translation might have been: Sir king! ye shall have war without peace, and always to the newest degree, ye shall be in subjection of your enemies, and ye shall be needy of all goods. In this case "to the newest degree" would refer to facing an enemy with the latest, never before seen weapons and strategies for war. Therefore, it could have been a simple translation error that led to the expression "to the nine." 'To the nines' has now gone out of use and only persists in the more specific 'dressed to the nines' (or sometimes 'dressed up to the nines'). Dressed to the nines, or dressed up to the nines are merely a version of the phrase that is applied to clothing. That is first cited in John C. Hotten's A Dictionary of Modern Slang, Cant, and Vulgar Words, 1859 as: DRESSED UP TO THE NINES', in a showy 'recherché' manner. Many theories abound as to what prompted the phrase to be used in reference to dress. The fact that the prior phrase to the nines had been in existence for at least 150 years before we see dressed to the nines makes it obvious that the derivation of the variant version of the phrase need have had no connection with the number nine. Despite this, various attempts have been made to guess at the origin. One has it that tailors used nine yards of material to make a suit (or according to some authors a shirt). The more material you had the more status, although nine yards seems generous even for a fop. Another commonly repeated explanation comes from the reportedly smart uniforms of the The Wiltshire Regiment (Duke of Edinburgh's) 99th Foot, which was raised in 1824. The problem with these explanations is that they come with zero hard evidence to support them, apart from a reference to the number nine (or even 99, which seems to be stretching the cloth rather thinly). The regiment was raised in the early 19th century, which is the right sort of date for the phrase to begin to be used in the middle of that century. It is at least plausible that the to the nines phrase was matched with the 99 of the regiment's name to and reputation to coin dressed to the nines. As we have seen ad nauseam with similar attempts to explain "the whole nine yards," there are many things that come in groups of nine. Almost anything associated with the number has been at some point put forward as the origin of this phrase. The fact is, we aren't sure. While no one knows the origin of 'to the nines' it is worth noting that nine has been used as a superlative in other contexts. Classical mythology gave us the nine Muses of arts and learning. The Nine Worthies were drawn from the mythology, history and the Bible. This distinguished group was Joshua, David, Judas Maccabæus, Hector, Alexander, Julius Cæsar, Arthur, Charlemagne, and Godfrey of Bouillon. We also have the nine days' wonder. Also known as a 'ninety-day wonder' for quickened passage of rank-rising military officers in times of war. All of the above would have been well-known when this phrase was coined. A more recent link between nine and excellence is 'cloud nine'. A further reference and possibly the origin is found in Naval uniforms. Uniforms are always referred to by numbers. The number 9 uniform or "Number Nines" has changed in definition over time and in some cases has been described as canvas like material as stiff as boards, and at others as "9's: White front and white shorts, worn with white top cap. Equivalent of 3's in whites ". A further description is [No 9 : White Dress, single breasted fully buttoned white tunic, white top cap, white shoes, medals] The U.S Navy does not use this system.

This answer may be its 1st origin, but the phrase is RUSTLE up some grub, as cattle rustlers (thieves) Main Entry: 1rus·tle Pronunciation: \\ˈrə-səl\\ Function: verb … Inflected Form(s): rus·tled; rus·tling \\ˈrə-s(ə-)liŋ\\ Etymology: Middle English rustelen Date: 14th century intransitive verb 1 : to make or cause a rustle 2 a : to act or move with energy or speed b : to forage food 3 : to steal cattletransitive verb 1 : to cause to rustle 2 a : to obtain by one's own exertions -often used with up b : forage 3 : to steal (as livestock) especially from a farm or ranch - rus·tler \\-s(ə-)lər\\ noun This is a quote from Hoss Cartwright (played by Dan Blocker) from the Bonanza series. He said this line, and then shortly thereafter the next scene would show them sitting around the fire, with a meaty carcass on a spit above a roaring fire.

There is a belief that the Irish people are renowned for their (bad) temper. People therefore sometimes refer to the Irish Temper. So, "Don't get your Irish up." means… "Don't lose your temper. Stay calm. Don't be angry." See Related Link below ads

It originates from Ireland, and is generally used by Irish immigrants. I've often caught my English teacher, who was born in Ireland, saying "Thank you kindly", which gives aw…ay her Irish heritage. (Though her lilting accent is blatantly obvious, not to mention she listed her hobbies as "Irish dancing and stealing gold from leprechauns"...)

1996 Summer Olympics when Kerri Strug was preparing to do a vault with a broken ankle, the camera flashed to her coach, Bela Karolyi shouting "You can do it!" With a Russian a…ccent. It was parodied shortly thereafter by numerous Adam Sandler films, most recognizably Rob Sneider's line in "The Water Boy".

Get going, get busy, as in Up and at 'em; there's a lot of work to be done . This colloquial idiom, often uttered as a command, uses at 'em (for "at them") in the general sen…se of tackling a project, and not in reference to specific persons. Sometimes used to order people out of bed in the morning.

I believe it originated with food. A nut can be dipped in chocolate, allowed to cool, and then dipped again for a thicker coating of chocolate. Double dipping has come to me…an getting more than your share, or getting paid twice for the same time or service. Someone who retires and then draws a pension, plus gets paid as a consultant related to their previous work is called a double-dipper. People who work on commission sometimes get paid for managing a client's account, and also get a commission for the buying or selling they do for the client. This is called double dipping and in some cases is unethical or illegal. In financial terms, double-dipping is when you get paid twice for the same work, get reimbursed twice for the same expense, or get paid twice from the same source (pension plus consulting). Example: Your employer sends you on a trip and pays for the expenses and then you deduct the cost of the travel as a business-related expense from your taxes - illegal! Back to food, in an episode of Seinfeld, George dips a chip in the communal dip bowl, bites off the covered portion and then dips the chip a second time. Another party goer has a fit because George's double-dipping is spreading germs. Where double dipping in other situations created higher quality, or richer food (double-dipped chocolates, or double batter dipped fried chicken), double dipping chips was ruining the food (dip). His behavior was considered rude, unethical or immoral. George is called a double-dipper as a derogatory epithet. A fight ensued.

Contrary to the popular belief that the phrase is derived from the the famous catchphrase 'Whats'up, Doc?' of the cartoon character Bugs Bunny, it is not. The phrase appears… in Jack London's The Sea Wolf (1904), chapter 25 (-- "What's up?" I asked Wolf Larson.--) Another referance to 'whatsup' can be found in a short story The Adventures of Shamrock Jolnes from the collection Sixes and Sevens (1911) by acclaimed American short story writer O' Henry (1862-1910). The character Shamrock Jolnes says, "Good morning, Whatsup." Bugs Bunny made his first appearance in 'A Wild Hare' on 27 July 1940, many years after both of these references. However it can be said the phrase was made popular by Bugs Bunny.

"The origin of the term shut-up originated around the 500 b.c. When the king miller would get annoyed by his fat jester sir Corey XV, he would use the term, ungato mr.roboto, …AKA SHUT YOUR MOUTH. Thank you for listening friends"

Wikipedia describes the English idiom "down to earth" as meaning "practical and realistic", implying a stable footing for one's behaviour. It's not difficult to i…magine how the phrase came about if you think of it as having the same origins as "keep your feet on the ground". If you jump up in the air, it's not a stable position... gravity rather gets in the way and brings you... "down to earth" Think of all the phrases meaning having or finding stability which are rooted in the same idea (actually even the word "rooted" implies the same thing): "He's a down to earth kinda guy", "Keeping your feet on the ground", "Coming back down to earth", "That idea is grounded in reality (the emphasis being on grounded here)" ...or those which imply instability by being away from planet Earth "That's all up in the air", "Head in the clouds" etc.

*The CEO was angry with the Manager. She laid him out in lavender. The lavender flower is well-known for its aroma. At funerals, this flower was placed close to the coff…in in order to hide the smell of the body. In the past, in order to transfer the wonderful smell of the flower onto their clothes, ladies would beat their freshly washed laundry with the branches of the plant. The original meaning of 'lay someone out in lavender' was to beat a person till he became unconscious. With the passage of time, the beating became more verbal than physical.